Earl Grey Milk Tea
by OceanPenguin
Summary: In which Marinette is oblivious and Adrien can't use his words, so Alya and Nino scheme. COMPLETE.


A/N: So this was supposed to be shorter, two thousand words or so, and what did it become. Also, this did not go exactly as planned

* * *

Marinette, well - she isn't surprised when no one deigns to sit at a table near her. Her friends aren't in this class, and everyone else probably thinks that she's too shy to be of much use anyways. She waits until everyone's filtered into groups around the black metal tables, and then she takes a seat at the remaining one that seems to be reserved for her: the table of the mismatched. There's a girl with flaming red hair, Alya, who she helped with math last year, a boy with a beanie pulled low over his head, Nathaniel, and another girl in with soulful sad eyes, Rose.

She keeps her head down until the teacher finishes introducing the classwork, and she immediately volunteers to get the tool suitcase. Just as she's lugging the huge yellow and black box back to the table, she realizes that someone has tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" She turns her head to where Alya's standing right behind her. "Oh hey, Alya. How are you?"

"Good," her classmate returns. The girl's eyes crinkle as she smiles a bit. "But do you know what would make it better?"

"What?" Marinette's always enjoyed Alya's playful attitude.

"If we went to the movies together."

"That would be great!" Marinette hid her confusion behind a smile. She and Alya weren't close, and this seemed like the type of thing close friends would do. The thing Alya and her best friend, Colette, would do. "Is Colette coming? I know you guys do everything together."

For some odd reason, Alya's smile dimmed. "Yeah. Yeah, definitely. We'll definitely need to hash out the details later, but what do you think we should go for?"

Marinette shrugged. "I've seen a couple of trailers recently, but I'm not sure what's good. You?"

"The new superhero movie that's coming out is the best. We've got to go."

"Sounds good. Can you message me the details?"

"Yeah, I'll add you to the group chat."

Later, when she asks Colette about the movie thing in math class, Colette shrugs. "Alya just likes watching movies lots of times. Especially superhero ones."

Awesome. Marinette had thought it seemed rather like a date at first, but that's just crazy. No one's ever had a crush on her. Well, maybe someone will in college.

The outing was fun, she got invited to more, and soon Marinette found herself being absorbed into Alya's group of friends. It's not until much, much later that Marinette learns Alya had actually been asking her out on a date that day.

In hindsight, that would certainly explain why Alya and her friends never saw the same movie twice.

* * *

"Hey! Marinette!" Alya rushed through the door, papers held aloft. "Guess what!"

"What?" Marinette asked, amused. Alya was always rushing in and out of the apartment they shared. Colette used to live with them, but she had recently moved in with her boyfriend.

"New assignment. I've got to get the scoop on this." She slapped the papers down on the living room table and rifled through her satchel for a pen. "Look. It says here that I get to visit Peru!"

"Wow," Marinette agreed. She leaned over Alya's shoulder and peered down at the fluffy white clouds and green mountains printed on the packet. "Wait. Are you sure that you're going to Peru?" She picked up Alya's pen and made a dot next to a sentence. "It says here that you're going to downtown Paris instead."

"Huh." Alya pulled the packet in front of her eyes. "It does say that, doesn't it."

"What's the assignment?" Marinette attempted to redirect the conversation away from the location of the job; she felt rather guilty for inadvertently raining on Alya's parade. "You're always coming home with something interesting."

Alya's face brightened. "It's about a new club in town. They've recently opened, and they've been blowing up. By all reports, it's one of the classier ones, but the entrance line stretches for blocks, although rumors say that if you know the owner, they'll let you in for free."

"Sounds cool." Clubs were definitely part of Alya's scene as a lifestyle editor, although Marinette didn't know where Peru came in.

"We should go," Alya exclaimed. "How else are we supposed to know what it's like?"

Marinette gently disentangled Alya's fingers from where they had lodged themselves into Marinette's sweater. "The club's more your thing, remember. And," she added, wrinkling her nose, "remember what happened the last time we went?"

"I should've kicked him harder," Alya grumbled. "He had no right rifling through our clutches like that."

"Any harder and he would've had a bone bruise," Marinette reminded her. "It's good that you stopped when you did."

"Thank god you're in the pre-med program, or I would've been stuck with a hospital bill."

"Not if you ran away first. Of if you just incapacitated him with so much pain that he couldn't even walk."

"Mmm," Alya said, dreamy. "That would've been awesome."

"Anyway, your club, someone's got to have had a plan in making it," Marinette said. "Have you talked to Nino lately?"

"Yeah, just this morning." Alya sank onto the couch. "He's the best." Marinette recognized this phase well - Alya was besotted with a new beau. She fell in and out of love quickly, often ended the relationships mutually, but she was always infatuated with them at first. Nino and Alya had been together for just two months, after they'd met at a music festival Alya had done an article on.

"Isn't he an event organizer?" Nino was always with the trend, creating receptions and parties that would sweep through pop culture long after he moved on.

"You're right. He's such a trendsetter, he probably had something to do with it. I'll give him a call."

Marinette sat back and waited while Alya chattered to her boyfriend on the phone. She reached for one of the ever present blankets and wrapped herself in it, leaning her head on the couch arm to take a nap.

When Marinette woke up again, there was a cold cup of tea on the table next to a post-it note covered in Alya's distinctive handwriting.

 _Went out with Nino. Tried to wake you up, but you were sleeping so soundly you just slept through it. Will be back before midnight._

She yawned and got up. The blinking green letters on the clock informed her it was just past seven at night. While it was thoughtful of Alya to prepare her a cup of tea (which was one of Marinette's favorite traits of Alya), there was nothing worse than a cold tea. Marinette sighed and dumped the contents of the mug into the sink, rinsing the cup and placing it back into the dishwasher.

Chances of any fresh food in the fridge was slim, considering that Alya had gone out with Nino and that it was a Friday; they did their shopping on Tuesday and Saturday mornings and most of the food had already been eaten throughout the week. If she was desperate, she could eat a few blocks of cheese and crackers, but Marinette had been craving milk tea ever she had gotten home.

She glanced at the clock, then at her phone. She didn't feel comfortable calling up her other friends to go out; knowing them, they were all just as busy as she was. In fact, if it wasn't due to the terrible accident today that short-circuited the lab's electricity today, Marinette would've just gotten home right now. Her parents were busy too; they were an hour away from closing and that was when most of the inventory started taking place.

It gave her a feeling of loneliness when she realized that her busy schedule and workaholic attitude left her little time for a social life. And when she did have some time, what did she do? Sleep it all away (granted, the nap was dearly needed).

She might as well _be_ a little spontaneous. Wasn't that what being young was all about? Marinette didn't want to turn into a facsimile of a drudgeon with a mid-life crisis in her early twenties. And since there was no food in the fridge, she might as well go out. It'd be the first in a month, at any rate.

She looked at the clock again. If she hurried, she could probably make it to a boba shop that was still open at this time. She wrapped herself in a scarf and a windbreaker jacket to protect against the chill of the spring air, picked up her purse, and headed out.

Marinette inhaled the warm fumes of the Earl Grey boba-free milk tea she was holding in her hands. It was so hot in her hands, and it send tendrils of warmth shooting through her fingers. She sat in a booth and quickly finished the bowl of noodles that she'd ordered along with her drink, thankful that she'd made the decision to come out so late at night. Few people were in the shop, eating and drinking, and she could relax in the silence.

She contemplated stargazing, and then remembered she was in Paris. Of course there were no stars to see; the smog covered it all up. It was almost as bad as BeiJing these days, what with the gray, cloudy gases hanging over everyone's heads like a wet blanket.

On the bright side, it wasn't a particularly bad day. She hadn't even had to use her face mask and her lungs hadn't tried coughing themselves up yet. If she didn't want to suffer from the smog, then she could always move out of Paris, she reminded herself, and then snorted. As if that were a choice. Leaving her family and friends was unthinkable.

Once she finished, she paid and left. She picked up her half-finished cup of tea, still warm, and headed outside. Wrapping her hands around the drink, Marinette turned right, intent on heading back to the apartment. Suddenly, a man knocked into her, spilling her drink over the both of them. She hissed at her drenched jacket, cursing her luck. It'll take a good chunk of her night to clean out the tea stain before it rendered her jacket unwearable. If it was any consolation, she remembered that her windbreaker was water-resistant, so it hadn't soaked in as much of the tea as it would have otherwise.

Marinette glared at the blond man who'd bumped into her so rudely. She couldn't help noticing that he was quite fit, what with the hard, sharp angles that dug into her shoulders, but it still didn't offer him any protection from her ire. He hadn't even the decency to offer up an apology! Instead, he whipped his head back and forth, as if he were being hunted, and then straightened, aiming a brilliant smile her way.

"Good evening, mademoiselle," he said smoothly, emerald eyes glittering. "Allow me to apologize," he added, and then reached for her hand, brushing his lips over the back of it.

She never gave him permission to touch her! She snatched her hand back and began furiously rubbing her scarf on it to relieve herself of the unwanted touch. A moment too late, she realized that she would have to clean her scarf along with her jacket.

Clearly, this man was an idiot if he thought he could get away with it. There was no reasoning with people like him, and so she twisted her body away from him, storming away quickly for good measure. Besides, she needed to be careful in large cities, especially at night.

It wasn't until later that she recognized him on one of the posters across the street. An ad for a perfume posted across the street featured that same blond man standing in front of the Eiffel Tower on a photoshopped backdrop of stars.

 _L'Eau de Parfum d'Agreste,_ it read. _Be Irresistible._

Well, she'd never have expected models to act like the personas they portrayed, but at least she knows better with - what was the blond's name? - now.

When she returned home, the lights were still off. She flicked one of the them on, filling the living room with a warm, inviting glow. She left it for Alya when her girlfriend inevitably stumbled back in the dark hours of the morning, and then headed off to her own bed to sleep.

* * *

"Girl," Alya propped a hip against the vendor's table, shooting a cheeky grin at the old vegetable farmer. "Tell me you didn't stay home last night."

The words slowly filtered through the surrounding chatter of the daily market. "Well," Marinette said, picking through the cucumbers, "I don't think I did."

"Marinette!" Alya said, incensed. Marinette handed two of the cucumbers and a few euros to the farmer. "I know you took a nap and you did something to your jacket and scarf last night."

The farmer handed back the change and the cucumbers, which Marinette tucked into the worn cloth bag. She turned towards Alya, beginning to walk again. "It wasn't much. I was craving noodles, so I went to the boba place on the corner. Funny thing was, there was this obnoxiously rude man who bumped into me and my cup of milk tea, and he spilled it all over us."

She grabbed Alya's elbow and steered them towards the fruit vendor, who was selling baskets of strawberries.

"Fruit pie?" she asked.

"Yup."

Marinette ran a quick eye over the strawberries which all seemed to be in good condition, so she took three small baskets and nudged Alya to pay for them.

She continued speaking out of the corner of her mouth. "What's funny, really, is that he didn't even offer to apologize." Then, as the memory of last night solidified in her mind, she backtracked. "Well, he did. It's just that he tried to kiss my hand as an apology! I never asked for anyone to touch me like that. I used my scarf to scrub my hand clean, and then I realized I had to clean my scarf too."

"He didn't have blond hair and green eyes, did he?" Alya asked.

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "Actually, he did! And he was kind of hot, too." She stared at her friend in shock. "Oh my god, you can read minds." Just then, they passed the same ad for the perfume Marinette had seen last night. "Hey, look, that's the ad I thought the man was on. I could've sworn it was the same person who spilled my drink."

Alya twisted around, staring at the blond man in all his glory. "Honey, that's the model Adrien Agreste," she choked out, giggling uncontrollably. "Many, many boys and girls alike would sell a leg and an arm to meet him."

"Well," Marinette frowned, "he was so rude, grabbing my hand and kissing it like that. Maybe others find that charming, but I don't."

Her friend snorted. "Only you, Marinette."

The girl in question rolled her eyes. "Well, someone's got to be there to do the cooking." Before Alya could respond, Marinette pulled her towards the cheeses. "We've got to get together and make a cheese platter! Come on, Alya, let's go pick out some more cheese."

* * *

"So!" Nino clapped his hands together. "Adrien, this is Marinette. Marinette, Adrien." He glanced at his two friends in the sudden silence, broken only by Alya's giggles. "I take it that you guys have met before?"

"You could say that," Marinette gritted out.

"Aw, princess, don't be so rude," Adrien smirked. "After all, we did share an enlightening meeting last night."

"You make it sound so glamorous, rather than the sketchy late night accident we had on the streets of Paris," Marinette retorted. "Besides, how was that enlightening in any way?"

Alya coughed. "I think what my friend here means is that your meeting wasn't illuminating - at least, not until she saw your latest ad for perfume."

"Hey, dude, I always told you that you'd be recognized for that," Nino grinned, ribbing Adrien in the side.

"Well, it wasn't as if I asked for my face to be featured on it," Adrien said. "I really don't get much control over the final product. I just stand still and pose for pictures."

"Such a pretty boy," Alya snickered. "Come on, Nino, we've got to get going if we won't be late to the restaurant."

Marinette yelped. "We're not on a double date, are we?"

"As if you could ever land something as hot as me," Adrien said, punctuating it with a snort.

She jerked away from him, unexpectedly stung, even though she should've known better. Surging forward to link her arm with Alya's, she called over her shoulder, "Actually, Nino, you'll be single until we get there. I'm not giving Alya back until we're seated, at the earliest."

Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette's side and pulled them close together, their steps falling into sync unconsciously. "Don't worry about him," she whispered. "He's just jealous that you're out of his league."

"It's okay, Alya," Marinette said. She shook her head in an attempt to forget Adrien's words. "It's not like I want him to take a second look at me anyways," she added bitterly.

Lunch passed in a tense fashion. Conversations were stilted and unfamiliar, even along well-traversed topics. Her hesitant questions were answered by even more stilted answers, and soon talk died down. Marinette wasn't sure what Adrien wanted from her, and his uncertain smile indicated that he was unsure as well.

Although, she wasn't sure how he would be; after all, wasn't he an internationally famous model? She didn't think she could make anyone _that_ uncomfortable.

Marinette sighed when she got home. She felt bad about ruining her friend's date, but she just couldn't stand Adrien. She wasn't stupid enough to assume Adrien had been brought on as Marinette's date after his vehemous denial of it, but even so, he shouldn't have ruffled her feathers so much.

"Sorry for ruining your date," she told Alya. "I don't think I can be in the same space as Adrien."

Alya sighed. "It's alright. I shouldn't have expected you to get along with him."

"I usually get along with most people, though," Marinette mused. "Not sure why he annoys me so much, though." Probably because he treated her like a joke. It still rubs her the wrong way, even though she knows that she probably deserved to be treated like one.

"I think I know," Alya said. "Doesn't it ever look like he's been pulling your pigtails?"

"Oh God, Alya, not this again. You've got to stop thinking that people have crushes on me." She's bitter, because every time Alya says this, the person in question either dates someone else within a month or asks her on a truly horrific outing. It felt more like humiliation than appreciation to be asked to go rock climbing or canoeing in a river, almost like they were waiting for her to fall and cry.

"Well, I did, and I have good taste."

Marinette shook her head. "I'm just not ready. I've never been in a relationship, and he's been in so many. I don't think he'll have the patience for me."

"Girl, if someone likes you enough, they'll be there for you," Alya patted her shoulder. "Trust me, the right person is out there."

 _For you, perhaps,_ Marinette thought, and then immediately regretted it. Alya has always had her back, even when she didn't agree with Marinette.

"Maybe." Marinette mustered a smile for her friend. "I think I've got some homework though. Want to do it together?"

"You're not getting out of your English essays that easily, missy," Alya grinned. A tilt of her head indicated that she wasn't fooled by the change in topic, but she was willing to let it go for now. She bopped the tip of Marinette's nose. "Let's start."

* * *

It turned out that while Marinette was Alya's friend that she drags around, Adrien was Nino's. They ran into each other so often that silences were no longer a choice, unless Marinette wanted to die from boredom.

Sometimes she wondered if Alya and Nino are trying to set her and Adrien up together, but the notion was so ridiculous that she dismissed it. Adrien would never date her, anyway. Either way, the outings have become weirder. They've gone to coffee shops, parks, and monuments - increasingly date-like places – and although Marinette's tried to beg out of going, Alya always pulled her along.

So, they talked. Adrien became nicer and nicer after every meeting, pulling out chairs and holding open doors. He's gentled his tone and backed down on the stinging jokes, and although Marinette's come to respect him, she's not so sure if she likes him.

In fact, she's not so sure if she's welcome at all in his presence. Even if Adrien's been paying more attention to her than anyone else, she's noticed that he tends to stumble over phrases, pause in the middle of a sentence, and then shoot off into a different topic. It never seemed to happen when he was talking with Nino or Alya. Maybe Marinette had a knack for touching upon extremely uncomfortable topics, but she's never seen anyone traumatized by the mention of macarons before. It might just be an Adrien thing, and she resolved to step around him carefully to avoid shattering his delicate nature.

She's been hesitant to talk about most topics lately. He's gone speechless about pastries, national monuments, and fashion. The only thing that they've never hit a bump on is politics, and Marinette's of the opinion that politics is absolutely off topic with acquaintances (Are they friends? Marinette's not sure), so sometimes they just end up sitting in absolute silence. Adrien still tries to engage her in conversation, though. Marinette doesn't know why, especially if she's just sending him down a memory lane of dark clouds and storms. Wouldn't it be better to talk to people who didn't step into a conversational land mine every ten sentences?

Perhaps Adrien talked to her because they're both uncomfortable around public displays of affection. Marinette's cheeks heated up whenever she catches a glimpse of Nino and Alya expressing their affection for each other. It's such a private thing, and she feels like she's intruding on their special moments when she accidentally catches a glimpse of a kiss or a whisper of an endearment. So whenever she sees Alya and Nino ducking away into a corner or sitting rather close together, Marinette tugs Adrien back for some form of conversation. He's always happy to oblige.

That theory goes down the drain when they visited the Eiffel Tower. When Marinette and Adrien were talking about the man Eiffel, Adrien had done his thing where he broke off in the middle of the conversation and began talking about flounder. Marinette was afraid that he'd have a nervous breakdown, or something like that, but when she mentioned it to Alya, she had hurt herself by laughing too much. Alya wouldn't let Marinette see her phone for the rest of the day, and she also wouldn't let Marinette cancel on the trip.

"But you don't understand! He does this all the time, and on nearly everything we talk about. I think I'm just bringing back bad memories and he's just humoring me." Marinette threw her hands up into the air. "It never happens whenever he's talking to someone who's not me, which means that if I don't want him to have a nervous breakdown, I'm going to sit out."

"You've got to go, Marinette," Alya said. "Leaving us alone isn't an option. I mean, think of how sad he'll -" Alya clapped a hand over her mouth. "So, Marinette, do you think we can have pie twice in a week?"

"Not you too!" Marinette groaned. "It's like Adrien's disease is catching. And I think even if Nino's sad that I'm not there, it'll be balanced out by your presence. He'll be fine."

Alya looked like she's choking back laughter. "Be there, Marinette. Or die."

And that was that. Marinette was going to go with Adrien to the Eiffel Tower and possibly trigger some _very_ horrifying recollections. Well, there was nothing to do except to carefully look at his reactions and hope she doesn't step into a hidden bomb. Oh, and she also had to bring her favorite piece of eyewear.

Marinette had brought a pair of sunglasses to shield her eyes from the couples dotting the tower, and she was prepared to lend Adrien a spare if he wanted one. The dark lens shaded her eyes and blocked out the embraces happening all over the place. She hung back from the group and expected Adrien to be next to her, but instead, he dove into the frenzy instead. He took posed pictures for Alya and Nino (in one, they were kissing, and Marinette just covered her face) and generally expelled his love for the place. Apparently Gustaf Eiffel had made it so well that the Americans had to out-Eiffel Eiffel with the Ferris wheel in the Chicago World Fair, and wasn't that just fantastic? Never mind that Marinette had blurted out that fact before Adrien became preoccupied with fish.

She couldn't help but feel hurt. Adrien was so confusing; he could speak to everyone but her, and he looked like he'd never been happier in places she assumed would relieve a horrible memory. She's tried so hard to accommodate him, but apparently all he'd needed was a lack of her presence. Well, that was that. There's no crying over spilt milk, after all, and if Adrien felt most comfortable without her around, then he'd get that. Besides, Marinette's been going out so often that her grades - well, they haven't been dropping, but she doesn't feel comfortable without her hour-long review cram sessions at the end of the week.

Marinette refused to go on the next outing. She cited that classes and work was piling up, and she really needed to study. Alya couldn't argue with that - finals were just two months away, and both of them wanted phenomenal grades to get into the programs they wanted to be in. But after Marinette declined an invitation to the third trip, Alya had begun to get fussy.

"Come on, Marinette, you've got to come this time! It's a nice, affordable restaurant with food you like. Online reviews say that the udon's amazing!"

Guilt curdled in Marinette's stomach. Alya had gone out of her way to find a place Marinette would like, and Marinette wanted to refuse because she made Adrien uncomfortable. It wasn't like she could tell Alya what was going on. Alya would tell Nino, and Nino would definitely tell Adrien, and this was the sort of thing that would just make everything awkward.

But then again, Alya had gone out of her way for noodles. And Marinette was always up for those, no matter which cuisine they had come from.

"Alright, I'll come." But she was definitely going to give Adrien his much-needed space.

* * *

Adrien's face had lit up when he saw Marinette walking into the restaurant. She was a little late, so by the time she'd gotten there, Adrien, Nino, and Alya had been seated. Marinette didn't think Adrien's reaction was a hallucination, but stranger things have happened, so she wasn't going to count that possibility out. After all, why would he be happy to see her?

She smiled back hesitantly and takes the remaining open seat: between Adrien and wall. Marinette slides against the stucco and looked across the table. Lo and behold, Alya and Nino were sitting so close together they could be one person.. Marinette blushed furiously and glanced down at her menu.

Sanukiya had wide array of udon dishes, and the tempura sounded particularly good. She'd been craving something lately, and lightly breaded shrimp and vegetables in a hot broth with square-cut noodles would hit the spot.

"Hey," Adrien nudged her. "So, what're you getting?"

"The tempura udon," she tapped the menu. "It's really nice and crunchy." She clamped down on the next sentence. Adrien was most comfortable when she wasn't around, remember?

"You?" she asked when she realized that she'd completely forgotten social niceties. "Are you eating anything?"

"I've been planning this out for a few weeks," Adrien said. "I think I want the spicy beef udon."

"Oh. That sounds good." There was a bit of an awkward silence, so Marinette added, "We should ask whether or not Alya and Nino are done ordering." She turned across the table, where Nino and Alya were whispering, faces close together. Screwing up her courage, Marinette reached over and tapped Alya on the shoulder.

"Hey, have you guys decided yet? I think the waiter's getting a little impatient." The man had been eyeing their table for the past five minutes. Her friends untangled themselves quickly.

"Yeah, we're ready," Alya tied her hair up. At some unspoken signal, the waiter came over and the dishes arrived a few minutes later. Marinette was able to avoid talking to Adrien by engaging Alya in a conversation about cat memes that she found online, and they continued the conversation while talking. Adrien and Nino were comfortable discussing figure skating (she hadn't realized Adrien enjoyed watching the sport), but as Nino gradually antsy from a lack of direct conversation with Alya, the two separate conversations merged into one. Marinette noted with relief that Adrien often asked questions posed to the entire group, which made it easier to remove her presence slightly. Adrien didn't stumble over a single phrase once, and he'd been talking about Yuzuru Hanyu's quadruple toe for quite a while now.

Well, this definitely proved it. Adrien was comfortable when Marinette's presence lessened. It still hurt a bit, so she excused herself to use the restroom, taking care not to brush against Adrien as she did so.

It's really awkward when she walked back, though, because Adrien kept trying to talk to her. She doesn't get why; he's been stumbling over his questions again. She admires his persistence, but wasn't that severely uncomfortable? Wasn't it better to just ignore her?

She answered politely, playing along. Most attempts to bring Alya or Nino into the conversation are futile. Apparently, Alya and Nino have an intense game of Tetris that they needed to get to. Really. It's the stupidest excuse she's seen in some time, and everyone else knows it too. Dinner ends early, and Marinette hurries back to the apartment. Adrien attempted to offer to walk her back, but he stopped when he saw the bewildered look on her face. Alya and Nino were going to a club, and he joined them on a whim.

When Alya got back, Marinette patted her back gently and said that this thing wasn't going to work. Interestingly enough, Alya doesn't ask what the thing was.

Marinette threw herself into work. The outings get less frequent, and when she goes, Adrien's not there most of the time. Maybe he had an urgent work commitment, and she's a little relieved when it's just her, Nino, and Alya again. When Adrien does show up again, he doesn't talk to her much. She noticed that he never stumbled over his words again, and she's grateful because she's no longer causing him trouble. There's a little odd itch in her chest whenever she sees him though, but she attributes it to happiness. No one ever said happiness couldn't feel strange.

* * *

"Hey!" The door slammed behind Alya. "Exam season is over, which means you and I get to celebrate!" she declared. "Come out with us tonight."

"Alright," Marinette pushed her books away. Her head was heavy from the knowledge she'd stuffed it with. "Where do you want to go?"

"More like where do _you_ want to go? You've finally finished; we celebrated mine a week ago."

"I like boba." Usually, she couldn't get Alya to go within twenty feet of the drink, but Alya would make an exception for special occasions.

Alya sighed. "Milk tea it is, then. Let me go get Nino." She picks up the phone and sends out a text. When Marinette's finished changing, Alya poked her head into the bedroom. "Nino's on his way to that place you like."

"Sounds good."

They gathered their things and headed out. Nino's waiting for them by the entrance.

"Adrien's ordered. He's got our drinks," he said as he pulled the door open for them. What was Adrien doing here? Maybe Adrien was struck by a sudden urge for milk tea. Unlikely, but she never knew what Adrien was thinking these days.

Nino led them to a booth in the back where a shock of blond hair rested over four tall plastic cups. Nino passed them out as they slid into their seats - Nino and Alya dove for the same side of the booth, which left Marinette perched next to Adrien.

Marinette had gotten a boba-free Earl Grey one, complete with one of those large purple straws that she loved. It was her favorite combination. Absently, she wondered aloud if Alya had texted their orders beforehand, but Nino shook his head.

"Adrien ordered all of it. He said he had memorized."

Marinette blinked in surprise. She didn't realize that he had her order - or anyone's, really - memorized.

"Thanks," she told him softly.

He nodded. "You're welcome."

"Well, look at the time!" Alya broke in. "Nino and I really have to go."

"Alya-" Marinette started.

Her friend bulldozed over that sentence. "No can do, Marinette, we need to check out that new restaurant on the other side of town. Really, I can't have my fans dying from lack of inspiration because I didn't upload the appetizers tonight!"

"Ditto!" Nino called over his shoulder before Alya dragged Nino out of the booth and ran out like a bat from hell.

Marinette sat there in shock.

"Was that the best excuse he could come up with?" Adrien muttered.

"Wait, you knew this was coming?"

Adrien's face crumpled into surprise a second too late. "No?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

They sat in silence. Marinette sipped at her drink. Why did he suddenly show up? She snuck a glance over at him, and his drink was untouched. Surely the greatest appeal of going out for him was Nino and Alya. She rarely saw him eat, and he barely talked to her these days. So if he wasn't here for the food, and his friends had left, why would he even be part of the conspiracy that Alya and Nino had concocted? Staying with her must be highly uncomfortable at best and torture at worst.

"So, you must be wondering why I'm here."

Marinette exhaled. "Yes."

"I'm not sure how to say this, and I'm not sure if you even feel the same way, but I need to get this off my chest."

Huh. If this is what she thought it was, he didn't need to say anything more. "You know, if you just wanted to say that you felt uncomfortable around me, that's fine. I already knew that." She made to leave. "We'll keep this between us so Alya and Nino won't feel bad for bringing us, right? I guess I'll see you whenever." Marinette pushed herself off the seat.

"Hey! That's-that's not what I meant." Marinette turned around just in time to see Adrien curl a hand back towards himself. An aborted motion from grabbing her?

"I think you've been pretty clear, anyways. I'm really not in the mood to hear about how much you dislike me or something similar."

"It's not that," he gritted out.

"Then what is it?" She nearly threw her hands up in exasperation, but she didn't want to spill her drink. She fixed Adrien with a stare, but he looked away.

"Just say it. I don't think I'm going to avoid you forever; I can't, and whatever you're going to say can't be as bad as you think it is."

It was bad form to stand while someone was sitting down, so she moved to the side of the booth Alya and Nino had vacated.

"Lay it on me. Please, Adrien," she added when he pressed his lips together. "I won't run, I -"

"I like you!" he burst out, and promptly looked horrified with himself for saying so.

"So you're disgusted with yourself because you like me?" That wasn't what she had expected, and she pushed away the flutter of _he likes me! he likes me!_ to remind herself that he practically _loathed_ himself for feeling so.

"No! No, I meant that I liked you."

"I got that. I don't think your facial expression matches what you're saying, though."

"I didn't want to say it the way I did. I was hoping to ask you out, and then I'd tell you … later."

She sighed. "Look, it's alright to hate yourself. Just don't pin this on me, okay?"

"That's not what I meant at all! I'm just trying to tell you that I like you, but I don't think you feel the same way, and I just needed to tell you so I could move one. And you said it yourself that we didn't have to tell Alya and Nino what was going on. We'd be nothing but acquaintances, and it'd be alright."

Marinette was stunned into silence.

"Say something," he urged after she didn't say anything for a minute or so. "Waiting is torture."

"You like me?" She squeaked out.

"Well, yes."

"Then why didn't you ever show it?"

"I thought it was clear enough! I planned most of those outings, you know. I'd look at places, I'd push Alya and Nino for information about you, and I really enjoyed talking to you, if you couldn't tell. And then you just had to go tell Alya that this thing wasn't working out, and I tried _so_ hard to move on, but no one was you! Gah, what's wrong with me?"

He buried his head into his hands. "Now I've made a fool of myself."

"Then why didn't you just say so?" She broke in. "I thought you didn't like me!"

"How? Nino and Alya picked up on it! The tabloids picked up on it! My fans, my other friends, and my father thought we've been dating for months!"

"Tabloids?" Marinette said faintly.

"Paparazzi tends to follow you around when you've a bit of fame." He pointed at himself. "Internationally famous model?"

"We're never mobbed when we're at places."

"My bodyguard team tends to protect us from them," Adrien mumbled. "I thought you were alright with it."

"I never knew!"

"Marinette!" he said, half laughter and half disbelief, "how could you not?"

"I thought that Paris was Paris, and that I really shouldn't stick my nose into things that were like part of the scenery." She caught herself, and then rewound the conversation in her mind.

"You haven't stuttered once!" she said, confused.

"I don't stutter."

"Only around me," Marinette amended. "And only around me. I'd go away, and you'd be fine. I couldn't talk about anything before you'd shoot off onto a tangent."

"I was nervous! And, well," a red blush suffused his face. "Actually, why am I telling you this, we've already established that my feelings aren't reciprocated. You kept avoiding me."

"I already told you that you only stuttered around me, so I kept my distance. I thought you were uncomfortable but too polite to stop conversing with me, so I kind of took the decision into my own hands."

"Well, then you're too polite, and caring, and cute."

"You think I do this for everyone?" She laughed a little. "I only do it for people I care for. Which is to say, I really like you. More than a friend," she clarified, when his face fell a little.

His face split into a grin. "Oh."

"Although I've never been in a relationship before, and I'd rather we take it slow."

"Yeah, slow's good."

They smiled at each other over their drinks.

"How did you remember my favorite drinks, anyways?" she asked when they were walking back to her place.

"I remember everything you say. I think I fell in love when I first met you," he admitted.

"You bumped into me, and you never apologized!"

"I was being chased by rabid fangirls," he said. "I think one of them did take a photo of me kissing you hand, and it blew up."

"It's amazing how I never notice these things."

"It really is," he leaned in and brushed his lips over her hair.

She froze.

"Too fast? Sorry, I really should've asked first, I wasn't - "

"I didn't realize how much I liked it," she told him. "You're fine."

"Oh, good." He leaned in and kissed the top of her head again.

* * *

Alya squealed with delight when Marinette told her.

"We've been trying to get you guys together for the longest time, but then there'd always be something in the way. And then Adrien completely offended you the first two meetings, but he was already head over heels for you anyways."

Nino snorted. "Adrien begged us to invite him every time. Oh, and he chose most of the spots, too. He tried very, very hard."

"So we were basically on double dates this entire time."

"Basically, yeah."

"Adrien mentioned something about tabloids?"

"Taken care of." Nino flashed a shark-like smile. "Adrien's got them locked down; said his new girlfriend's camera-shy, and since you two make such a nice couple, the fans have been shipping you two for ages. Besides, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that whenever any online site published something about Adrien's black-haired, blue-eyed East Asian girl date, the site gets infected with nasty virus."

"And yet they still persist."

Nino shrugged. "Paparazzi. What can you do?"

Marinette gave him a hug. "Thanks, Nino."

"No problem, Marinette."

* * *

"So, tell me why you kept stuttering again?"

"You don't need to ask him," Alya broke in. She giggled drunkenly. "It's 'cause he kept imagining - "

"That's enough!" Adrien hooked an arm over her shoulder, and then hauled her back to Nino. "Nino, here's your girlfriend. I'm going to take mine and get out of here."

"You can't take a girl from her own birthday party!"

"I think I can," Adrien informed Alya primly, and then swept Marinette out the door. "Blessed relief."

She sighed. "Alya'll kill you in the morning. Boba?"

"Sure."

They walked down the street.

"So why did you kept blushing and stuttering again?"

"I'm never going to tell."

* * *

A/N: Adrien blushes and stammers because he can't take the cuteness that is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

or, as Marinette would say, maybe he just has idiopathic craniofacial erythema, which is a medical condition where someone has severe and unprovoked blushing (Marinette's still in the zebra stage, really).

Also: Earl Grey milk tea is life. I like mine without the tapioca pearls. You?


End file.
